


Blossom

by MintChocolateLeaves



Series: Mint's Multiverse [4]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Florist AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 14:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11083728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintChocolateLeaves/pseuds/MintChocolateLeaves
Summary: “Okay, so hear me out,” Kaito says, after a while, when he’s brushed all of the fallen leaves into a pile. He grabs a bucket to throw them into, offering a grin. “I’m thinking roses.”





	Blossom

“Aoko grows her petunias better than Kaito does.”

They’re both sat in the florist shop they share - it’s double the size of an average flower shop, the room split into half. One half of the floor plan holds flowers that Aoko has planted, grown and raised. The other half of the shop home to the plants Kaito has potted and nurtured. 

The counter, where they are both sat, is the only place within the shop where there isn’t outright war between the pair. Kaito sits on a small wooden stool, picking at the bento Aoko had passed him when they’d set off for work this morning. He’s much more focused on watching Aoko as she checks the morning cash amounts, thumbing through notes and counting coins. 

He flicks a bit of rice across the counter, ignoring the warning look he’s sent. 

“Who gives a flying fuck about petunias? Aoko people care more about _roses_. You have to focus on making your roses flourish.” 

Aoko glances at him, bites into her lip and gasps. She shakes her head, places the money she’s counting back into the register and grasps at her chest, sending him the most pained look she can muster. “Don’t you dare offend my petunias; they can _hear_ your insults.” 

She receives a look that Kaito hopes insinuates how little he cares for her petunias and their feelings. 

“If they wilt,” Aoko continues, dropping the illeism – she’d grown out of it after they’d both attended university, but during work hours, it’s not unusual for her to slip back into the habit to charm any potential customers, “it’s because you hurt their feelings.” 

“No,” Kaito says, flicks more rice across at her, “if they wilt it’s because you’re a crappy florist.” 

Another gasp – Aoko shakes her head, glaring at him in a manner that’s more affectionate than angry, and turns back to the cash register. Since it’s Saturday, two o’clock, Kaito decides to give her the time to respond to count, adjusting their books; They close at four on Saturdays, and she always likes to have their accounts sorted by the time they flip their sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. 

“I’m not afraid to hit you,” she says, and while she doesn’t glance over at him, Kaito knows that she means it. She’s tired – they both are, but Aoko’s always grumpy when she doesn’t get at least eight hours of sleep. 

“Next time, we shouldn’t leave the 100 centrepiece vase arrangement until the evening before our client picks it up,” Kaito says, remembering how he’d felt close to tears as the clock had reached midnight and he was still in the shop, cutting stems and submerging them into hot water in an attempt to make the flowers firm and steady again. 

“That’s probably a good idea,” Aoko agrees, closing the register, grabbing her own bento from beneath the counter. “Or, next time we can make sure we have wine while we do it.” 

Kaito hums as he chews, glances down at his watch, and stretches. They’ve got a few orders that they need to finish, before they can close up, and he still needs to re-pot the carnations when he goes out to the greenhouses, which _sucks_ , because he hates carnations and how easily they seem to fall apart in his hands. 

“Who won?” He asks after a moment. Ever since they first got the lease on the shop three years ago, they’ve been having weekly competitions to see who can get the most sales. They always exclude pre-planned sales, using only the sales they get from in-store customers. 

The loser has to buy dinner on Saturday’s – date night – at the winner’s restaurant of choice. Sometimes they both go out for tempura, deciding to go for smaller things, but other times, they decide to go all out, booking reservations at high end restaurants and hoping they don’t lose that week’s competition. 

“We’ve not closed yet,” Aoko says, around a mouthful of rice, “the outcome can still change.” 

_Translation: “You’ve won, but I’m not giving up until its 4.01 pm.”_

Kaito grins. Pushing up his sleeves, he turns. The floor is littered with leaves, and he supposes now that he’s finished with his bento he should probably sweep them up and put them in the compost bin out back… He hesitates for a moment, leans across the counter, grabbing at the fabric of Aoko’s jumper. 

He leans back, offers a smile and says, “You’re covered in thorns.” 

A frustrated laugh, “a customer wanted their roses not to have thorns, and they wanted all twenty-four done within fifteen minutes.” 

Kaito feels part of his soul leave his body and wither with the older flowers. Instead of offering his sympathies – he normally takes twenty-five minutes to de-thorn that many roses – he pushes off of the stool, making his way into the side room to grab the broom. 

“You know,” Aoko says, as he starts brushing leaves towards the side of the counter, “we still haven’t decided on the ideas for Ran-chan’s wedding bouquet yet. She asked me about it yesterday.” 

Kaito hums, the sound low in his throat. Two months ago, Hakuba had brought Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran into the shop, telling them that if they wanted a brilliant wedding bouquet, they could trust in these two.

He’d seen recognition flicker across Shinichi’s face as he’d linked two identities together, but thankfully there was no need for a poker face, as the other man had simply leaned forward to shake his hand and ask what the average price for wedding flowers was. 

“Well, has she got her dress yet? We can’t decide on anything until we know about that.” 

Aoko nods, plucks her phone from her pocket, and opens a picture. Kaito pauses to glance at it – the dress is white, ivory, the fabric stitched together with a floral theme. There’s a silver belt made from beads across the middle, with a fake white gardenia at the left side of her waist. 

“Wow,” Kaito says, as Aoko pockets her phone, picking her chopsticks back up. “And… what colour tie is Kudo going with?” 

“Red.” 

 _It’s always red._  

Kaito’s first thought is roses, with something white gardenias, similar to the one that Ran has on her dress. It doesn’t seem right though, not at first. Instead, he rakes his mind for other designs, something more fitting for the couple. 

“Okay, so hear me out,” Kaito says, after a while, when he’s brushed all of the fallen leaves into a pile. He grabs a bucket to throw them into, offering a grin. “I’m thinking roses.” 

“Roses are clichéd.” 

Kaito raises his hands in surrender. It looks more like he’s preparing to throw leaves at Aoko than giving up. He says, “Like I said, hear me out – _White roses.”_

Aoko’s expression goes from scrunched up and uncertain to contemplative. 

“White roses and red anthuriums. Throw some leaves around the edges. Simple, but elegant.” 

There’s a short nod. “Make the anthuriums pink. Kudo-kun’s not the one holding them, Ran-chan needs something lighter.” 

Kaito grins. “Pink it is. I’ll prepare them tonight then. We can bring a sample bouquet with us when we visit them tomorrow.” 

Already he’s dreading the fact that he’s adding more work to his list, but it’s not like it’s going to take too long to pick the flowers, fill up a separate bucket with cold water and submerge them. It’ll be the last thing they do before they leave later. 

“I’ll leave the floor to you then,” Kaito says once he’s finished collecting leaves, picking the bucket up. “I’ve got plants to re-pot.” 

“The carnations?” Aoko asks, and there is distaste there – they both hate the damned flowers, they’re irritating to work with, and the only time they sell them is for funeral processions. “Remember to get the right Ph. this time, you made the soil 7.7 last time, it needs to be-” 

“6.7, yes, Aoko I know. I’m a florist too.” Kaito mutters, “we both have qualifications on the wall.” 

He’s offered a small grin. “Just get to work.” 

He’s pretty sure she only wants him out in the greenhouses so she can try to rack in more sales. They’ve got a reservation tonight, and he knows that Aoko wants to push the bill over to him like she did last time they went out. 

“Okay, okay,” Kaito grins, poking her in the shoulder as he passes her, “I’m going. No throwing a sale while I’m re-potting plants.”


End file.
